Pulling together and connecting as a team in the build-up to the Momentum One Day Cup final at the Newlands cricket ground on Friday will be a vital component of the preparations in their quest for a hat-trick of domestic 50-over silver ware, said Paul Adams, the Nashua Cape Cobras coach.

The Cobras reached their fourth consecutive final in domestic limited-over competitions the past two years by finishing on 29 points after 10 Momentum One Day Cup matches. Adams, in reflecting on the reasons for the dominance by the Cobras, who won nine trophies the past six seasons, said the attacking brand of cricket played by the Cape franchise was a factor. “Obviously we also have a strong squad and the players have bought into the plans we have made as a franchise. “Another factor was that we were not defensively minded and thought it was a batsman’s game. We did not sit back and wait. We have attacked and we have managed to bowl teams out in the first half of the Momentum One Day Cup competition,” said Adams. The coach was not unnecessarily perturbed by the 8-wicket defeat against The Unlimited Titans and the loss to the Sunfoil Dolphins. He said there were some distractions and fragmentations caused by the call-ups to the South African A squad. It required players to travel to Newlands in the build-up to the match against the Dolphins, which was a mental challenge. It will be important to connect again as a team and to pull together in the week before the Momentum One Day Cup final. Justin Ontong, the captain, shared the same sentiments. Ontong said there were no top-order hiccups that caused the team to wobble on 19 for four against the Dolphins. “No, it is about winning the major moments in any Momentum One Day Cup match, and we did not win those against the Dolphins,” he added. Justin Kemp is nursing a swollen ankle and is in a race against time to be ready for the final. Andrew Puttick, who has as a quad problem is being monitored. The opener has smashed 583 runs in the Momentum One Day Cup competition at an average of 72.87.